POLICE: DRUG COUNSELOR RAN METH LAB

Police Say Port Henry Man Had Meth Lab In His Home

PORT HENRY -- A Port Henry man accused of running a meth lab out of
his home was in Moriah Town Court for a felony hearing Monday.

John R. Boyle, 33, of 6 Second Lane Building 2, Port Henry has been
in the Essex County Jail since his arrest by State Police earlier this month.

Boyle was a substance-abuse counselor at the Moriah State Shock
Incarceration Facility in Mineville when State Police raided his home.

He was charged with felony third-degree unlawful manufacture of
methamphetamine and misdemeanor second-degree criminal possession of
methamphetamine manufacturing equipment.

State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation Investigator Ronald
Husner said in court papers that Boyle had tubing, glass jars and
containers "used in manufacture of methamphetamine."

The laboratory equipment was found during a police raid of Boyle's
home in Port Henry, Husner said. Moriah Town Justice Brian Venne had
issued a search warrant for the incursion.

Police have released scant information on the May 8 raid, but
neighbors said streets around the house were blocked off while
troopers wearing bullet-proof vests stormed the house. A helicopter
was also used for surveillance of the property.

The afternoon raid was apparently timed to coincide with Boyle's
return home from his job as a drug counselor at the Moriah Shock
Incarceration Facility.

State Department of Correction spokeswoman Linda Foglia said Monday
that Boyle was paid $37,630 a year to work in the alcohol- and
substance-abuse program at Moriah Shock. He started work at the
prison in September 2005.

"We do expect disciplinary action in the form of a suspension," she said.

Boyle was represented at the felony hearing by attorney John McDonald
Sr. of Ticonderoga. Boyle told Venne he believes the state workers
union he belongs to will have an attorney represent him at future
court appearances.

Boyle waived the hearing, and his next Town Court date was set for
Tuesday, June 26.

Bail had been set at $2,500 cash or $5,000 bond, but at McDonald's
request, Venne reduced it to $2,500 bond and Boyle was able to make bail.

Wearing a striped prison uniform, with leg chains and his wrists
handcuffed in front of him, Boyle was brought into court by Essex
County Sheriff's Deputies Matt Braunius and Michael Blaise.

Several of Boyle's family members sat behind him in the courtroom,
and he chatted with them during breaks in the proceedings.

Methamphetamine labs can give off dangerous fumes and are prone to
explosion or fire. Police said that in addition to the lab equipment
at Boyle's home, they found muriatic acid, ammonia, thinner, stove
fuel and lye, all chemicals that are part of a meth recipe.

County Assistant District Attorney Michael Langey is prosecuting
Boyle. Langey said Boyle is not charged with having any
methamphetamine at the time of the raid, only with possessing the lab
equipment and chemicals used to manufacture the drug.

Methamphetamine stimulates the mesolimbic-reward pathway in the
brain, causing euphoria and excitement, and is prone to abuse and addiction.

The facility Boyle worked at uses boot-camp-type training and
discipline to rehabilitate first-time drug offenders.